Method of and machine for molding rolls



, 1,630,106 W 1927' His. B!LDERBACK ET A METHOD OF AND MACHINE FOR MOLDING ROLLS Filed Sept. 14,-1925 s sheets shet 1v May 24, 1927.

HIS. BILDERBACK ET AL METHOD OF AND MACHINE FOKMOLDING ROLLS Filed Sept. 14. 1925 57Sheots-Shcet 2 May 24, 1927.

' 1,630,106 H. s. BILDERBACK ET AL METHOD OF AND MACHI NE FOR MOLDING ROLLS Filed Sept. 14, 1925 cs-Sheet 3 H. S. BILDERBAC'K ET AL 1630106 METHOD OF AND MACHINE FOR MOLDING ROLLS Filed Sept. 14. 1925 5 Sheets-Shoot 4 unmm 1630106 2%1927 H.'S. BILDERBACK ET AL METHQD OF AND MACHINE FOR MOLDING 'ROLLS s, Sheets-Shoot 5 Filed Sept. 14. 1925 plastic material in Patented May 24, 1927.

K nney .sp- BiLDnRBAoK, 0F

METHOD or Ann MACHI EVFOR admire m.

. Application filed September 1 Specifically considered, the present invention relates to the i'nanufactnre of so-callecl pocket book or Parkerhonse rolls or the like although ;it may he usefully eni ployedfor other purposes; 7 l i v e I Rolls of the kind to Which We have referred consist of a single piece folded n'pon itself at or near the middle. 1 One of the objects of the present invention is to produce simple and novel method of -inaking stich -1'oll s (lirect-ly' from a lump or'hall of dough. Anothoifobj'ect of the present invention to procliice a'siniple and novel machine for transforming a'hall of dough or other to a flattened piece folded upon itself. I v i r e A further object of the present invention to produce a simple and novel machine for forining folcled rolls or the like and depositing them evenly in pans or other receptacles. p i e A further object ot' the present invention is to produce a simple and novel machine for automatically forming folded rollsor t'he like and automatically moving pans or other receptaclesin such time relation to the forming mechanism ancl in such positions relatively thereto that any desired number of pans or receptacles will be automatically iillecl with completed rolls.

The various features of novelty whereby our invention is Characterized Will hereinafter he pointed outwith particularity in the claims; but for a full understanding of our invention and all its objects and advantages, inclndingathose l'i'eretofor'e enumerated and others, reference maybe had to the following. detailed description taken in connection with the accolnlmnying drawings; wherein: Figure l is a vertical section, taken on a plane extending from front toiear of aniachine embodying our invention; Fig.2 is a plan ,view of the 1nachine;vFigl Elisa view similar to Fig.1, on a mneh larger scale, only a portion o t the machine-being sl1oivn ancl theparts beingin different positions from those in which they appear in Fig; 1; lFig t is atop plan view, partsin' section, of a fr a gment o'l' the machine, shoiviig' the controlling lever in a tlifl'erent positionfrom that in which it api iears in 2; Fig. 5 isa verti cal sevtion throng-h the, ,torniing ineohanism and fragment offthe pan for receivingvthe rolls, and tl'ie ai'1'ier forthe pan; Fig. 6 is a side viewof the pawl carrying driving sides of the frame,

14, 1925. Serial sailed arin and" the ratchet Wheel with which it co-operates'; Fig.1

the ratchet ivl'i'eel; and; Fig. 8 is a detail sl'iowingi a step step clrive fol-the forming of, brevity, the detailecldescription Will be confined to jtl'iisfspe'cifi'oembodiment; al

though itwiill -of course be understood that our inventionjis applicable to other uses and that the niecharnsin I may be Widely vari ed \vithon't departing from the spirit of our invention; p i Referring'to the drawings; 1 a suitable frame Vol-base having at the topa table, which may consist simply of a pair of rails 2 extending from front to rear on opposite "ll'iere are two endless chains 3, each extend'iing acrossthe top ancl' underneath one of the rails; these chains running over sprocket" Wheels on shafts t and 5 extending transversely of the machine at the front and rear ends of the latter; Each chain has .Cl'istribnte cl a'long'th'e ame, on the iniie'r side thereof, a series of logs or bracketsti that project upwardly above the upper run of the chain and downwardly from the lower run.

arm I 2 F ELK GJETY QKLAHOMA; AND 'cHARnns A: ERA-unis, 0F LITTLE noon, ARKANSAS. a i is is an edge View of a fragmente oi the pawl-carrying driv ng arm and" The lags or brackets are spaced apart sntliciently far to permit a baking pan A 31" the like to he i-nserteclhetiveen consecn tive brackets. The distance between the chains is somewhat less than the length of the pans or receptacles to be filled, and the chains" are initially-so placed with respect to eachtothertha't the brackets on one are directly opposite the brackets on the other. 'Iherefore, assuming that the upper runs of the chains when they travel, move from the rear towardthe front, it will be seen that Whenever two pairs of brackets appear at the top of the machine, at the rear enll, a pan may beset on the chains between thenigancl will then he carried by the ch'ainstowartl the front of'tlie machine, a a

llhevrolls are adapted to he made antoati@a1]' i,,,fro1n indi idual halls ofdoiigh." These balls are placecl in a row feeder chutes T extending,transversely across the machine above the front thereof, one ballot dough beingv placed in each chute. The chutes may take the form of bottomless cups supported on a swinging frame, comprising a pair of cross bars 8 fixed at their ends to two arms 9 pivotally supported at their upper ends as indicated at 10, upon two vertical side frame members 11 rising above the top of the machine. The chutes may therefore swing as a single unit forwardly and rearwardly. \Vhcn the chutes are in their forward position, as shown in Fig. l and Ill dotted lines in Fig. 3, their lower open ends are closed or at least partially closed by means of a curved stationary plate 12. The plate 12 is made of such a width that when the chutes are in their rearmost position, as shown in full lines in Fig. 3, the bottoms of the chutes are no longer covered and the balls of dough, such as indicated at B, may drop out of the chutes. A spring 13, acting on the swinging frame, tends constantly to draw it toward the rear. The swinging frame, with its chutes, may be locked in its forward position by a controlling lever l-t extending from the front toward the rear of the machine at one side thereof, and pivotally supported from the frameof the machine, as indicated at 15, to permit it to be swung in a transverse plane. The controlling lever has thereon a lateral projection 16 in position to be swung behind one of the curved arms 9 of the swinging frame, when the chutes are in their forward posi tion, thus locking the chutes in this position against the tendency of the spring to swing them back.

\Vhen the balls of dough drop out of the chutes, they are taken by the forming mechanism, transformed into rolls, and delivered into the pans or other receptacles. The forming mechanism comprises two parallel rollers, 17 and 18, extending across the ma chine a short distance above the chains or carriers and in such positions that the balls of dough drop into the space between them when they leave the chutes. The rollers are not spaced sufliciently far apart to permit the balls of dough to drop down between them, but the balls are supported by the rollers until a descending plunger presses them down and at the same time partially divides them. The plunger is shown as taking the form of a long heavy blade 20 extending across the machine and fixed to the free ends of a pair of supporting arms 21 each of which is journalled at one end upon a stationary transverse shaft 22 extending between the side frames 11 at the rear end of the machine. The parts are so proportioned that the plunger may move from an upper position such as is shown in full lines in Fig. 3, at which time it lies clear of the chutes, to a lower position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3 and in full lines in Fig. 1; in which lower position it extends down through the space between the forming rollers preferably below a plane containing the axes of rotation of the forming rollers, but out of contact with both of the rollers. It will thus be seen that if the rollers are rotated in a direction tending to draw the halls of dough down between them. and the plun er is swung down, the plunger will engage each ball at about the center and, since. the dough is yielding, will cut into the balls and at the same time force them down. The parts may easily be so prtmort'ioned and their movements so timed that the part that is formed in the balls extends just the desired distance into the same. whereby the product as it leaves the rollers, on the under side of the latter, has the proper shape to produce the desired finished roll when baked.

In order to prevent the finished product from adhering to the rollers and to insure that they will be placed properly in the pans, we have associated with the forming rollers suitable stripping and placing devices. In the arrangement shown, the stripping device is simply a scraping blade 24 suspended at a point in front of the roller 18, as indicated at 25, and having its blade proper underlying the roller. A spring it; acts on the scraper in a direction yieldingly to press the edge of the blade against the under side of the roller. The placing device we have shown is a small roller 27 parallel with the roller 17 and 1,8 and lying below the space between the rollers 17 and 18, but nearer to the former than the latter. The roller 27 is supported by a U-shapcd frame 28 the arms of which are journalled midway between their ends on the shaft 2! that supports the roller 17; and it is driven from this shaft by suitable sprocket chain drive 30, so as to rotate in the same direction as the roller 17. Assuming tl at the roller 18 rotates in the clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 3 and that the roller 17 and the placing roller 27 rotate in the counterclockwise direction, it will be seen that as the ball B is pressed down by the plunger and is transformed by the plunger and the rotating forming rollers into the folded element C. This element does not drop down vertically, but is held for a time between the rollers 18 and 27 to be caused to be supported until its lower end is just; about to engage with the bottom of the pan into which it is to drop. The completed rolls will therefore be accurately deposited in the pans.

The movable parts may be operated in proper time relation to each other by any suitable mechanism under the control of the lever 14. In the arrangement shown, power is derived from a motor 32 mounted in the lower portion of the base of the machine; the motor driving a countershaft 33 through suitable speed reducing gearing which, as shown, includes a sprocket chain 34 and ltlfl the part of the plunger, and therefore when the plunger does engage with the dough itis acting on them in a perfectly centered condition. The crank shaft makes one complete' revolution, at the end of which the pawl engages the tripping rod and is re leased from the ratchet wheel. At this time the plunger has been returned to its up position, so that the machine is ready to carry out another cycle of operations.

The tinished rolls may he depositwl in the underlying pan just before the crank shaft stops; or, they may still be held by the placing roller and the forming roller if) when the machine stops, and thereafter be laid in the pan at the beginning of the next cycle of operations. The placin roller preferably extends down into the underlying pan, where an ordinary baking pan is used, so as to retain control of the rolls until about; the time thatthey touch the bottom of the pan. It is for this reason that we have mounted the placing roller on a swinging frame, since this frame permits the roller to ride up along the rear side of each pan as the rear end thereof passes the roller, and drops down again into the front end of the next succeeding pan. In order normally to hold the placing roller in its proper position, we have placed the supporting frame under the control of a spring (51 placed between an ear (32 on this frame, and an adjustable shoulder on a stationary bolt 63 that passes loosely through the ear. The car (32 is on the outer end of a lateral extension of the bar or plate Get that forms the rear side of the frame 28 and extends laterally through a hole 65 in the web of one of the side frames 11, as best shown in Fig. 4. The belt (33 extends forwardly and upwardly and is rigidly fastened at its front end to a part of the frame by nuts ('36. Surrounding the bolt, above the spring, is a piece of tubing (3'? that is engaged by a knurled nut 68 screwed on the bolt. By adjusting the nut 68 the resistance to bodily downward movement of the placing roller may be varied.

It is desirable that the machine be constructed to permit one pan after another to be filled without interruption. The parts may therefore be so proportioned and so timed that the distance between the center of each pan and the center of the following pan is an exact multiple of the pan travel during one cycle or forming operation. The pan edges are placed just close enough together so that one cycle of operations will move the pans from the position for complet-ing the filling of one to the position for starting on the next pan. For instance, if each pan is wide enough to hold tive rows of rolls, the movementis timed so as to re quire six cycles for each pan. Five of these cycles resultin the forming of rolls, and

means are provided for causing the sixth cycle to follow auton'iatically after the ti t't'h. 'lherefore the operator need only set the machine in operation to place the lastrow of rolls in a pan and then wait until the machine stops ready to form the rolls that constitute the first row in the next pan. This automatic control means is best shown in Figs. 3 and -l-. le'lerring to these ligures, it will be seen that there is a lever Tl) journalled near its rear end upon the shaft 22 and having its front; end. bent downwardly, as indicated at Tl. V The lever is so proportioned that at the end of the fourth forming operation the bent end 7t engages with the rear wall of the pan that is being tilled. Therefore, when the fifth forming operation begins, the bent end of the lever will ride up the inclined rear wall of the pan, swinging the lever upon its supporting shaft. At the rear end of the lever is a tinger T2 that is adapted to be swung in front of a collar T3 tixed on the controlling rod 5t whenever the front end of the lever is swung up while the controlling rod is in its release position. it. will therefore be seen that when the operator shifts the controlling lever llto start the ti fth forming operation, the tripping rod Fri; is brought into its release position, ready to be locked in that position by the finger '72 on the lever 70. The disc 50 holds the tripping rod in its idle position until it can be locked there by the lever 70; the movements of the lever ll being therefore the same as during any other cycle of operations, so that the chutes will be locked in their forward position and the operator have ample time to till them before they are required to discharge again. Then, when the machine has completed the lifth cycle, the pawl is not disengaged from the ratchet wheel. because the tripping rod is locked in its release position. Consequently, the crank shaft makes another revolution and, before that revolution is completed, the advancing end of the lever 70 drops into the next pan releasing the tripping rod and permitting it to disengage the pawl from the ratchet shaft. \Vhen the machine stops it is ready to form a row of rolls and place them as the first row in the empty pan following that which has just been tilled.

In the machine as heretofore described. the forming rollers are rotating at the time the plunger strikes the balls of dough. It is sometimes advisable, however, to permit the plunger to cut into the dough and form or partially form the partings while the rollers are still stationary. To this end the forming rollers may be driven in such a manner that they rotate only a portion of the time during which the driving crank shaft rotates, permitting the plunger to de scend during the idle periods of the forming rollers. A suitable arrangement for this purpose is shown in Fig. 8 wherein 37 represents the crank shaft heretofore deltlt) lll-i lit) ' vention.

represent cam' gears that take the place of the gears 40 and tl on the shafts 37 and 29, respectively. designed to permit the crankshaft tomake three revolutions for GIGhTGVQlufiOll oi? the forming rollers. The inoveinents of the forming rollers are not synchronous with those of the crank shaft, the latter rotating at a uniform speed and the cam rollers revolving at a corresponding speed only dur-' ing the time'one of the toothed sections 82' on the gear 8.1 is in mesh with the toothed segment 83 on the gear whereas, during the time the arc-shaped section 84. on the gear 80 is turning in one of the concave seats 85 in the periphery of the gear 81, thelatter gear and the forming rollers, are stationary. The mechanisms are so timed, when'this modified construction is employed, that the plunger descends while the. rollers are stationary, the rollers remaining tlius until just before the plunger reaches the lower limit of its movement, at which time the rollers start to turn.

It will thus be seen that we have devised a method of making rolls or the like containtaining a parting that is simple, permitting rolls to be made rapidly in large quantities, and insuringuniformity of product. It will also beseen that we have produced a simple and novel machine for'efliciently carrying out our improved method. I 1

While we have illustrated and described in detail only a single form of machine for carrying out our invention, with a single modification, we do not desire to be limited to the details thus illustrated and described; but intend to cover all methods and ar-- ra igements coming within the appended claims which constitute definitions of our inlVe claim: I 1. The method of forming a roll or the like having a parting therein, which consists in rolling out a piece of dough and at the sanietime forcing into it, between the rolled faces, a member partially to divide the same. I

2. The method of forming a. roll or the like having a parting therein, which consists in flattening a ball of dough, and at the same time partially dividing it along a plane parallel with the flattened sides. I

3. The method of joining a roll or the like-having a parting therein which consists in forcing a ball of dough into a space narrower than the ball and at the samev time partially dividing theball, so as to form flattened sides parallel with the plane of division. I

4:. The method of forming a roll or the l ke having'a parting therein, which consists in forcing a ball of dough between two roll- Thegears, asshown, are i:

.el's rotating in I oppi isite directions, by a p plyiiigtotlie" ball, in the direction of travel of the ball, a pressuresullicient to produce a parting. c g V ,5. fill-1c method of; ,forming a roll or the like, having a parting therein, which con in forcing a ball oi? dough between two rollers rotating in opposite directions, by

applying to the ball along a line extending across the same inthe direction of the length of the rollers a pressure suflicieiit partially to divide the ball. I I r 6. The method of forming a roll or the like having a parting therein, which consists in centering a ball of dough across the space between two separated rollers, rotating the rollers in opposite directions to tend to draw the dough between them, and forcing the ball into said space by applying pressure along a line extending across the same and in the direction oi: the length of the rollers.

7'. The method of forming a roll or the" like having a parting therein, which consists in placing a ball of dough between two separated members having opposed elements in their surface moving in the same direction,-and then pressing a blade against the ball to force it in sa d direct on between said members and at the same time produce a parting in the dough.

9. In combination, two rollers spaced apart from each other, means for rotating them in opposite directions, a bladedike plunger extending in the direction of the length of the rollers, and means for moving said plunger into and out ot the space between the rollers from a position such that the plunger in entering the space between the rollers is traveling-in the same direction as the longitudinal elements on the inner sides of the rollers.

, 10. In a machine of the character described, means for rolling out a ball of plastic material, and means for forming in said material during the rolling operation,

a. parting located between the rolled faces.

11. In a machine of the character described, means for flattening a mass of plastic material and means for forming a parting in said mass during theflattening op eration along a plane parallel with the fiattened sides.

12. In a machine of the character'described, a movable carrier, mechanism for delivering rolls to the carrier, a controlling lever, means controlled by said lever for moving said carrier a step and causing one delivery of rolls upon each operation of the lever, and a controlling device for said means actuated by said carrier to cause the movements set in operation by said lever to be repeated at intervals.

13. In a machine of the character described, two rollers spaced apart from each other, a blade-like plunger movable into and out of the space between the rollers, and mechanism for driving the plunger and the rollers in such time relation that the rollers are stationary until the plunger has entered the space between them and then begin to rotate.

In testimony whereof, we sign this specification.

CHARLES A. FRANKIE. HENRY S. BILDERBACK. 

